Alamo Bowl

The Alamo Bowl is a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The current champions are the UCLA Bruins. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.

Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been played in December. The game following the 2009 season marked the first time the game was played in January, making it be played in 2010. The game following the 2010 season returned to December.

History

The game was previously known as the Builders Square Alamo Bowl (1993–1998), the Sylvania Alamo Bowl (1999–2001) and the MasterCard Alamo Bowl (2002–2005). The logo of the event has evolved to reflect the changes in sponsorship. On May 24, 2007 the Alamo Bowl announced a partnership with San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corporation, and thus the bowl's full name was changed to the Valero Alamo Bowl.

The game originally gave an automatic invite to a team from the now-defunct Southwest Conference (SWC). However, in 1993, only two of the eight SWC teams finished with the necessary 6 wins against Division I-A teams to become bowl-eligible (and those two teams were already committed to other bowls). The Alamo Bowl invited the Iowa Hawkeyes instead. The SWC was able to provide teams for the next two seasons (Baylor Bears in 1994 and Texas A&M Aggies in 1995) before the conference disbanded.

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

Oklahoma State University (also referred to informally as Oklahoma State, OKState, O-State, and OSU) is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act. Originally known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (Oklahoma A&M), it is the flagship institution of the Oklahoma State University System. Official enrollment for the fall 2010 semester system-wide was 35,073, with 23,459 students enrolled at OSU-Stillwater. Enrollment shows the Freshman class of 2012 was the largest on record with 4,298 students. OSU is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with high research activity.

Oklahoma State University is listed by the Princeton Review as one of 120 “Best Western Colleges” for 2011, and as one of 50 "Best Value Colleges – Public" for 2010. Oklahoma State University is one of the highest rated veterinarian colleges in the US. It is ranked by U.S. News & World Report No. 66 among "Top Public Schools: National Universities" and No. 132 among all National Universities for 2011. For 2009–10, Kiplinger listed OSU among its "100 Best Values in Public Education," with an in-state ranking of No. 91 and an out-of-state ranking of No. 93. In 2013, Oklahoma State was ranked number 23 on the Forbes list of "Best Value Colleges."

Battle of the Alamo

The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States), killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna's cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution.

Several months previously, Texians had driven all Mexican troops out of Mexican Texas. About 100 Texians were then garrisoned at the Alamo. The Texian force grew slightly with the arrival of reinforcements led by eventual Alamo co-commanders James Bowie and William B. Travis. On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexicans marched into San Antonio de Béxar as the first step in a campaign to retake Texas. For the next 10 days the two armies engaged in several skirmishes with minimal casualties. Aware that his garrison could not withstand an attack by such a large force, Travis wrote multiple letters pleading for more men and supplies, but fewer than 100 reinforcements arrived there.

Colorado Buffaloes

The University of Colorado Boulder sponsors 17 varsity sports teams, with the addition of women's lacrosse, which began play in the spring of 2014. Both men's and women's team are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or Golden Buffaloes (acceptable, but rare). "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993. The nickname was selected by the campus newspaper in a contest with a $5 prize in 1934 won by Andrew Dickson of Boulder. The university participates in the NCAA's Division I (FBS) in the Pac-12 Conference. Rick George was announced as the sixth athletic director in program history on July 17, 2013, following the resignation of Mike Bohn, and after an interim appointment by former Women's Basketball Head Coach and current senior associate athletic director and senior women's administrator Ceal Barry. Colorado has won 28 national championships in its history, with 20 in skiing, including 2015. It was ranked #14 of "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated.

Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls

Oklahoma State Cowboys (Cowgirls for women's teams) are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University. Their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates in the NCAA's Division 1-FBS and in the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Mike Holder. In total, Oklahoma State has 51 team national titles, the fourth-most team national championships in the country. These national titles have come in Wrestling (34), golf (10), basketball (2), baseball (1), and cross country (4).

Varsity teams

Mascot and team nickname

Prior to 1957, OSU was known as Oklahoma A&M. As was common with most land-grant schools, its teams were known for many years as Aggies. However, in 1923, A&M was looking for a new mascot to replace its pet tiger (the inspiration behind the school colors of orange and black). A group of students saw Frank Eaton leading the Armistice Day Parade. He was approached to see if he would be interested in being the model for the new mascot, and he agreed. The caricature, Pistol Pete, that was drawn that year is more or less the same as the one in use today.